Angular adapter for attachment to gun barrel



Oct. 1l, 1960A J. c. HAMRlcK ANGULAR ADAPTER FOR ATTACHMENT T0 GUN BARREL Filed Feb. 5, 1959 d mf. v O a ,o wa 4 w l J m Mu mmm-7f/V/ 1 M w p u M E r C am: n, Q 1 A v w m uw w m a A 0 l 0 1||J 4. M4.. .Nm M/u, O 2 :A 2H 5 .m W wn C Firl l, w S; w Q a 5 71.. Z V5 m w.. d w Hf ma J a m.. x a 5 e 5 m\ W 5 m 7. *n m km l mw 2 a ,n A, o s L x L 2 w A a l m l n w w m TWIN@ BY PW ATroRNEYs ANGULAR ADAPTER FOR A'ITACHIVIENT T0 GUN BARREL James C. Hamrick, Charlotte, N .(I., amignor to Jet Lines Products Company, Inc., Charlotte, N .C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed Feb. 5, 1959', Ser. No. 791,416

2 Claims. (Cl. 124-30) This invention relates to an angular `adapter for attachment to the barrel of a gun so as to permit the tiring of a cartridge projectile by the gun in a direction angularly disposed with respect to its barrel. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with an angular adapter to be used as an attachment for lan apparatus employed in passing a guide line through a conduit, such apparatus being of the type disclosed in my co-pending United States patent application 774,715 filed November 18, 1958.

In an apparatus of the type described in said co-pending United States patent application 774,715, the size and shape of the hand tool or gun which is adapted to launch or fire a cartridge projectile having a line attached thereto poses a problem whenever the open end of the conduit through which the projectile and accompanying line are to be passed is located in a relatively inaccessible place, as for example, when the open end of the conduit is connected to a junction box. In such instances, the conned space within the junction box or in other cramped locations prevents the placing of the hand tool or gun in a position for accurately alining the cartridge projectile with the open end of the conduit. Where the above condition is present, the projectile cannot be introduced into the conduit by use of the hand tool or gun alone.

It is an, object of the present invention to provide an angular `adapter for attachment to the barrel of a hand tool or gun, the adapter having a chamber therein for reception of a cartridge projectile and auxiliary firing means operable in response to the operation of the tiring mechanism of the gun so as to iire the projectile in a direction angularly disposed with respect to the barrel of the gun. Thus, it becomes unnecessary to have a space sufficiently large to accommodate the hand tool or gun for alining the projectile with the open end of a conduit. The `al'igular adapter may be inserted in the confined area, while the gun is held in a location permitting the projectile receiving chamber of the adapter to be properly alined with the open end of the conduit.

It is another more specific object of this invention to provide in an apparatus for passing a guide line through a conduit including a gun having a barrel provided with a firing pin, `a line supply, and a projectile to which one end of the line from the line supply is attached; an angular adapter attached to the barrel of the gun and having a projectile receiving chamber extending in a direction angularly disposed with respect to the barrel of the gun, a pivotal lever mounted therein and having an auxiliary firing pin on the end thereof adjacent to the chamber, the lever pivoting in response to the firing of the gun to cause the auxiliary firing pin .to strike the projectile which is positione'din the chamber, whereby the projectile begins its Hight in a direction langularly disposed with respect to the barrel of the gun. Y Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure l is a side elevational view of a hand tool or gun having the angular adapter embodying the present invention attached to the barrel thereof, portions of the gun being shown in phantom lines for purposes of clarity;

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the hand tool or gun with the angular adapter attached thereto, looking from the right-hand end of Figure l;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along line 3 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the upper extension of the angular adapter taken along line 4 4 of Figure 3,Y illustrating the projectile receiving chamber with a cartridge projectile mounted therein;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Figure 3; and

Figure 6 is a schematic view of the hand tool or gun with the angular adapter attached thereto, illustrating the manner in which the angular adapter permits a projectile to be tired through a conduit connected to a junction box.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, Figure l illustrates a hand tool or gun 10 having a firing mechanism which includes a trigger 11 for releasing a spring-urged plunger 12 provided with a tiring pin 13 on its forward end. The gun 10 includes a barrel 14 having a central bore in which the plunger 12 is received. The gun 10 may be of the same type illustrated and described in my co-pending United States patent application, Serial Number 774,715, reference being directed thereto for details of the tiring mechanism of the gun 10. For purposes of description in this application, it suces to say lthat the plunger 12 is slidable within the barrel 14 between retracted and extended positions. When the gun 10 is cocked for firing7 the plunger 12 is in retracted position and upon pulling the trigger 11, the plunger 12 moves forward within the barrel 14 under the biasing force of the spring 15 into extended position in order to permit its tiring pin 13 to actuate a cartridge projectile normally positioned adjacent thereto.

Under normal circumstances, the cartridge projectile is located with its longitudinal axis in alinement with the axis of the plunger 12, and upon pulling the trigger 11 of the gun 10, the firing pin 13 on the plunger 12 punctures the rear end of the projectile causing it 4to be launched or tired in a direction substantially in alinement with the barrel 14 of the gun 10. Thus, in using the gun 1) in the manner described, it is necessary to have suicient space to position the gun 1t) with its barrel 14 in substantial alincment with the open end of the conduit through which thek projectile is to be tired. The size and shape of the gun 10 make this condition impossible to fulfill in instances where the available space is limited, such as when the projectile must be launched within a junction box in alinement with the open end of a conduit connected thereto. To overcome the obstacle presented by space limitations which prevent the location of the hand tool or gun 10 in a position alining the projectile with the open end of a conduit through which it is to be red, the present invention contemplates the use of an angular adapter as an attachment to be removably secured to thebarrel 14 of the gun 10.

The angular adapter, as illustrated in the drawings, may be termed a right angle adapter and comprises a split housing 20 formed from two identical pieces, the housing 20 having an elongated central portion 21 provided with an upper extension 22 and a lower extension 23 projecting substantially perpendicular to the central portion 21 from its oppositeends. The two pieces forming 'the split housing 2t) are secured together by suitable fastener means. A` projectile receiving chamber 24 is formed in the upper extension 22 of the housing 20, while the lower extension `23 is 'provided with a laterally extendingvtubw lar connector I25 having a central bore 26/for'receiving the forward end of the barrel 14 of gun 10 in a manner to be presently described. The elongated central portlon 21 and the lower extension 23 comprise a hollow substantially L-shaped bridging portion extending between the projectile receiving chamber 24 in the upper extension 22 and .the barrel receiving bore 26 of the tubular connector 25.

The means for removably securing the housing 20 of the angular adapter on the barrel 14 of the gun 10, as shown in the drawings, may comprise an end portion 14a of reduced diameter on the barrel 14 having an L-shaped or bayonet slot 3ft formed in the forward end thereof. As shown in Figure 3, the reduced end portion V14a of the barrel 14 is telescopically received -within the bore 26 of the' tubular connector 25. It will be noted that the tubular connector 25 of the angular adapter is provided with a screw 31 which protrudes into the'central bore 26 thereof, as shown in Figure 5.V To attach the angular adapter to the gun 10, the screw 31 is alined with the open end of the bayonet slot 30 and thereafter guided along the bayonet slot 30 to the closed end thereof.

Instead of positioning the cartridge projectile in axial alineirient with the barrel 14 of Vgun 10, this invention contemplates that the chamber 24-formed in the upper extension 22 of the angular adapter will receive the cartridge projectile, Figure 4 illustrating a cartridge projectile 40 mounted in the chamber 24. 'The cartridge projectile 40 may be of the type described in my co-pending application 774,715 which contains a gaseous propellant substance, such as compressed carbon dioxide. The pro- .jectile 40 upon being punctured relies upon the release of the gaseous substance contained therein to exert a forward thrust thereto. Means are provided to releasably retain the cartridge projectile 4t) in the chamber 24 of the angular adapter, this means taking the form of a leaf spring 41 which is secured at one end to the external surface of the upper extension 22. The opposite free end of the leaf spring 41 is provided with a projection or lug 42 thereon which extends inwardly through an aperture provided in the Wall of the upper extension 22, as illustrated in Figure 4.

second lever arm 55 at its opposite end to bias the lever 50 about its pivot point 51 in a clock-wise direction, as viewed in Figure 3.

The operation of the angular adapter in cooperation with the hand tool or gun 10 will now be described. Upon securing the adapter housingY 20"-about the reduced end portion 14a of the barrel 14 of gun 1li, it will be ob- Served that the lateral leg 53 formed on the first lever arm 52 presents a face in opposition to the forward end of plunger 12. Upon pulling the trigger 11 to actuate the firing mechanism of the gun 10, the plunger 12 is urged forwardly by the spring 15, and in turn, forces the lateral e leg S3 of the first lever arm 52 in a generally forward direction causing the lever 50 to pivot about its pivot point 51 in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 3, against the biasing force of spring 60. It will be apparent that such pivoting movement of the lever 50 e thrusts the firing pin 56 into the chamber 24 to puncture location ofthe hand tool or The projection 42 protrudes within the chamber 24 and is adapted to resiliently engage the cartridge projectile 40 to releasably retain the projectile within the chamber 24 preparatory to the launching thereof.

The housing 20 of the angular adapter contains auxiliary firing means in the form of a substantially L-shaped -lever 50 pivotally mounted as at 51 in the hollow L- shaped bridging portion defined by the elongated central portion 21 and the lower extension 23 of the adapter housing 20. The lever 50 includes a first lever arm 52 extending within the lower extension 23 and having a lateral in-turned leg 53 protruding within the barrel receiving bore 26 of the tubular connector 25. It will be observed in Figures 3 and 5 that the lateral leg 53 formed on the first lever arm 52 includes a vertically extending slot 54 in the face thereof opposed to the forward end of the plunger 12 within the barrel 14 of the gun 10. As shown in Figure 5, the slot 54 accommodates the firing pin 13 on the forward end of plunger 12 to prevent injury thereto upon firing the gun 10.

The lever 50 also includes a second lever arm 55 extending at a right angle with respect to the first lever arm 52 and having its end remote from the first lever arm located adjacent the projectile receiving chamber 24 provided in the upper extension 22 of the adapter housing 20. An auxiliary tiring pin 56 having a longitudinal axis :substantially parallel to the axis of the chamber 24 is .adjustably mounted in the end of the second lever arm 5S located adjacent to the chamber 24 by means of a set screw 57.

The firing pin 56 is normally maintained outside of the chamber 24 by means of a retraction spring 60 seated at one end in a suitable vertical bore providedin the central PQIion .g1 ,of the adapter Ahousing 20 engaging the the rear end of the cartridge projectile 40, whereby the projectile 40 is launched or tired in a direction substantially perpendicular to the barrel 14 of the gun 10. A resilient bumper 61 in the form of a nylon pin maybe provided in the internal upper wall surface of the central portion 21 to cushion the counter-clockwise movement of the second lever arm 55 and prevent it from forcibly striking against this internal upper wall surface.

Thus, in instances where space limitations prevent the gun 10 so as to aline a projectile with the open end of a conduit through it is to be fired, the angular adapter may be employed as an attachment for the gun 10 to permit the firing of thev projectile through the relatively inaccessible conduit by the use of the auxiliary firing means carried within the adapter and operating as described.

As shown in Figure 6 for example, a conduit C leading away from a junction box J ordinarily creates a space problem so as to render impossible the use of a line passing apparatus employing a hand tool or gun for launching a projectile through the open end of conduit C unless the angular adapterY is attached to the gun. Figure 6 illustrates a line supply in the form of a line can 65 mounted on the barrel 14 of gun 10, the line can l65 having a free end of line L extending therefrom and at tached to the trailing end of the cartridge projectile 40 in a suitable manner, such as by tying it about a split ring or circlet 66 frictionally secured to the trailing end of the projectile, as shown in Figure 4. The cartridge projectile 40 is placed in chamber 24 formed in the upper v confined area within the junction box J for properly positioning projectile 40 for subsequent launching through the open end of conduit C.

Heretofore, workers have been reluctant to install junction boxes until the electrical conductors or wires were already in place within the the junction boxes because of the difficulty, above described, in passing a guide line through a conduit connected to a junction box for subsequently allowing the electrical conductors to be pulled through the conduit. The hand tool or gun 10 when equipped with an angular adapter as shown in Figure 6 overcomes this diiculty and makes it practical to install such junction boxes at the convenience of the workers. Y Although the angular adapter which has been illustrated and described is a right-angle adapter, it should be distinctly understood that adapters having varying angular relationships with respect to the barrelof ai gun and suitable for the purpose herein described fall within the spirit of the present invention.

In the drawings and specification there has vbeen set forth a preferred embodiment` of the inventionV and, .although specific terms are employed, they are used in a which conduits to be connected to` f generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. An adapter for attachment to the barrel of a gun, said adapter comprising an open-ended housing having a projectile receiving chamber and a barrel receiving bore at its opposite open ends, a hollow L-shaped bridging portion extending between the projectile receiving chamber and the barrel receiving -bore provided in said housing at the opposite ends thereof, said projectile receiving chamber having an axis angularly disposed with respect to the axis of said barrel receiving bore, a substantially L- shaped lever in said hollow connector portion of the housing, said lever comprising first and second lever arms extending angularly with respect to each other, said first leverV arm Vhaving a lateral leg protruding into said barrel receiving bore and said second lever arm having its end remote from said first lever arm located adjacent said projectile receiving chamber, a firing pin mounted on the end of said second lever arm adjacent said projectile receiving chamber, and means mounting said lever for pivotal movement in said housing at the juncture of said rst and second lever arms so as to thrust said firing pin into said chamber, whereby said iiring pin may strike a projectile to fire it outwardly of said chamber.

2. An adapter for attachment to the barrel of a gun,

said adapter comprising a housing having an elongated central portion provided with an upper and a lower extension projecting substantially perpendicular to said central portion from its opposite ends, said upper extension defining a projectile receiving chamber, means on said lower extension for receiving the barrel of the gun, a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends within said housing -at the juncture between said central portion and said lower extension, said lever having rst and second lever arms extending from its pivot point through said lower extension and said central portion respectively, at a right angle with respect to each other, said rst lever arm having a free end portion adapted to be exposed to the interior of the barrel, firing means projecting from the free end portion of said second lever arm into proximity with the projectile receiving chamber formed in said upper extension, and said lever pivoting in response to the application of force emanating from the barrel of the gun against the exposed free end portion of said first lever arm to thrust said tiring means into said projectile receiving chamber, whereby said tiring means may strike a projectile to iire it outwardly of said chamber.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

